Surbiton_Trophy_Programme_2017

technology
Firstvision has invented
a video camera that
slots into the chest area
of a player’s shirt.
The results are
astounding: you see
the player’s racket
close-up as he
strikes the ball, and
as he prepares for
the ball toss.
photos of the All England Club. He says safety
regulations currently prohibit drones operating
directly above tennis tournaments packed with
thousands of spectators. And just as well if you
recall how, in September 2015, at the US Open, a
drone operated by an amateur cameraman crashlanded
into empty seating in the Louis Armstrong
stadium. Fortunately no one was injured but the
Italian player Flavia Pennetta, who was competing
against Romania’s Monica Niculescu, said she
thought it had been a terrorst attack.
“A little bit scary,” she said after the match.
“With everything going on in the world, I thought:
‘OK, it’s over.’ If there had been spectators, it would
have hit them and done a lot of damage.”
Fortunately, drone technology is improving
all the time. “Drones are getting smaller and
more reliable,” Pocock says. “Some even feature
parachutes in case the motors fail.” He believes
that in a few years’ time aerial drones will be an
indispensable tool for all major tennis broadcasting
teams.
Shirt cams are another intriguing piece of
TV technology. Spanish company Firstvision has
invented a tiny, unobtrusive camera that fits into
the chest area of a player’s shirt, beaming out live
footage. On a tennis court it allows viewers to see
the court as if they were actually playing on it.
The company tested their device on the courts
of the Academia Sanchez-Casal, in Barcelona
(Andy Murray’s old alma mater). The results are
astounding: you see the player’s racket close-up as
he strikes the ball, and as he prepares for the ball
toss. You get an intimate view when he wipes sweat
off his brow, drinks from a water bottle and pulls
up his socks at change of ends. And you hear him
grunting, groaning and cursing during play, more
clearly than if you were his doubles partner.
At professional level the results would be
even more impressive. Imagine how thrilling (or
frightening) it would be to face Milos Raonic’s
serve, or to find yourself in between the umpire
and Nick Kyrgios’s chest just as an argument kicks
off – with all the accompanying sound effects. If
the language gets too fruity, all you do is turn the
volume down.
Talking of fruity language, what about coach
mikes? At Davis Cup and WTA events, where
courtside coaching is permitted, why shouldn’t
coaches be miked up so that spectators can
14 Aegon surbiton trophy 2017